Had the vet look at Isabeau's growth...

[Jazzy]

Healing vibes sent to Isabeau and 's to you.

[FBODGRL]

The vet called tonight with the histopathology results. The MCT that was aspirated was a grade 2, clean margins. The third growth to show up turned out to just be a cyst. So that's good news! She's healing up okay, goes in to get her incisions rechecked in a week. Hopefully, no new MCTs pop up for a loooong time now.

Great news!

[Savage Destiny]

Yay, I'm glad to hear at least one of her lumps was just a cyst! Hopefully there will be no more lumps!

[RescueAPBT]

Well, HERE WE GO AGAIN!!! I took Isabeau in to the vet this afternoon for her 2 week recheck. Right before I left the house, I decided to give her a once over just to make sure she doesn't have any new growths that we should have looked at while we're there. About an inch below the incision of the last MCT, I noticed a small reddish spot,slightly raised. Great. So I figured maybe it's nothing...I'm sure the vet will just say I'm being paranoid...

I get to the vet hospital, we're in the exam room...as soon as the vet sees it he starts shaking his head and frowning. He hemmed and hawed for at least 5 minutes or so, like he couldn't believe it, and didn't quite know what to say. He measured it, and measured 2cm around it. It looks like to take it off, you'd have to cross over the incision from the last MCT. It appeared to me that THIS is why he seemed very unsure of what to do, and very dissapointed that it looks like another MCT has popped up. He decided that we should recheck it on monday, and if it's still the same or bigger, he's going to aspirate it. It is very small, and he felt like aspirating it right now might not get any results. I think he wants more time to think about WTF he's going to do now...

I am flipping out. My poor dog. As soon as we take off one tumor, another one comes up. What makes no sense, is that they're all NEW occurances... it's not spreading, and it's not the same tumor coming back. The mitotic index on both of the MCTs she's had removed was 0. Needless to say, this is very frustrating.

[Misskiwi67]

If the mitotic index is 0, the risk of metastasis is essentially zero as well. If it were my dog, I'd probably watch it like a hawk and take off as many as show up every 6 months.

Is your pup on Benadryl?

[Misskiwi67]

Oh yeah, and Mast cell tumor does this a LOT... where lots of unrelated tumors show up... its a pain in the patookas for everyone involved. Most people give up and just leave them knowing one will eventually probably turn out to be a problem.

[RescueAPBT]

If the mitotic index is 0, the risk of metastasis is essentially zero as well. If it were my dog, I'd probably watch it like a hawk and take off as many as show up every 6 months.

Is your pup on Benadryl?

Yes, she is on Benadryl. So you're saying you would hold off on surgery for now, and just remove how every many there are in 6 months? Then just keep on removing them, every 6 months? Or am I misunderstanding...

So since she's having a problem with MCTs, is it likely she's got a higher rate of developing some other form of cancer too?

[Misskiwi67]

Yes, she is on Benadryl. So you're saying you would hold off on surgery for now, and just remove how every many there are in 6 months? Then just keep on removing them, every 6 months? Or am I misunderstanding...

So since she's having a problem with MCTs, is it likely she's got a higher rate of developing some other form of cancer too?

Yup, thats what I would do, knowing full well the one I leave for 6 months could be the bad one... but doing surgery every 2 weeks just doesn't seem reasonable either.

Mast cell tumor is VERY common, right up there with hemangiosarcoma, we pretty much see it weekly it seems like. I don't think there is a higher risk of developing other cancers, but can't say this for sure.

[RescueAPBT]

Yup, thats what I would do, knowing full well the one I leave for 6 months could be the bad one... but doing surgery every 2 weeks just doesn't seem reasonable either.

Mast cell tumor is VERY common, right up there with hemangiosarcoma, we pretty much see it weekly it seems like. I don't think there is a higher risk of developing other cancers, but can't say this for sure.

Yeah, my mom (an RN) seems to think I need to just accept that she's going to get more tumors and stop doing surgeries. I'm just so worried, though I know that even if if one did turn out to be a grade 3, it wouldn't change anything. I've already made the decision that I won't do chemo or radiation anyway. I guess it's the not knooowing what grade they are that would bug the crap out of me. I can't afford to keep doing surgeries every two weeks...and Isabeau doesn't have enough skin to do that either, haha. I hate not knowing what's going on, not knowing what could happen. It's so frustraaaating.

[Jazzy]

Just 's to you both...what a nightmare!!

I can see Missk's point...it does make sense...balancing being proactive with quality of life.

So sorry you are dealing with this!

[RescueAPBT]

Thanks Jazzy. I definitely don't want to put Isabeau through a gazillions surgeries. I do want to get this one aspirated if it doesn't go away, just so I know if it's even a MCT or not. If it is an MCT, I think I'm going to just let the vet know I want to wait a few months before doing another surgery.

To make matters even more wonderful, my other very-well-housetrained dog, is suddenly having accidents. My guess is she has a urinary tract infection, since she did the same thing when she had one 6 months ago. So back to the vet I go tomorrow...JOY! I see way too much of those people...

[RescueAPBT]

So the spot that had appeared on Isabeau a few days ago seems to be disappearing. Not so sure that it actually was anything to begin with. My other dog did wind up having a UTI, then proceeded to have an allergic reaction to the cephalexin (face swelled up, hives), so back to the vet we went for a change in medication. Just when I thought now everything is under control...Isabeau seems to have red, angry-looking bumps coming up in the middle of the incision that was a cyst removal. It's been two and a half weeks since the surgery, so it's pretty much healed up. I can't tell if it's blisters or something else. She hasn't been messing with it at all. It's like this happened all of a sudden.... it wasn't there this morning, I just noticed it an hour or so ago. Anyone have any ideas? These pics don't really show just how angry and red and sore it looks. My first thought is to assume it could be another MCT coming up. Could blisters show up for no reason after it's been 10 days since surgery, and she's not messing with it?

[RescueAPBT]

Turns out they were blisters that burst overnight. Now they've been weeping all day, non-stop, kinda bloody. Still not sure why on earth this started up after the incision was healed. If it's still weeping tomorrow, I'll just keep the appointment I already had with the vet for a recheck.

[Kahlie]

Just can't seem to catch a break, huh?

I'm sorry you guys are going through all this. to you both!

[RescueAPBT]

Well... last night I looked at the incision from her first MCT removal, and it now looks like the MCT is growing back, in the exact same spot it was in (I even compared it to the pictures). They got clean margins, but the margins weren't very big, because at that point we didn't know it was a MCT. I swear to you, if it's not one thing...it's another.